Six Underground starring Ryan Reynolds to be shot in Abu Dhabi

Ryan Reynolds will be filming in the UAE capital in Michael Bay's Six Undergound. EPA

Six Underground is the title of Michael Bay's latest big-budget blockbuster. It's directed by the Transformers head honcho, stars Deadpool's Ryan Reynolds, and will be shooting in Abu Dhabi as of November.

The movie promises to be a collision of Deadpool and Mission Impossible, which sounds intriguing if nothing else. Of more interest to audiences may be the fact that stars including Ryan Reynolds and Dave Franco are currently attached to the project, and that it is set to be Netflix's biggest-spending film to date, with a budget of around $125 million (Dh460 million).

The National understands that pitches are already being taken by twofour54 Abu Dhabi, who will act as local producers on the project, for everything from extras to cameramen to hospitality and wardrobe, although no one from twofour54 was available to comment.

The film will be produced by Skydance Productions, the same US company that oversaw the recent Mission Impossible: Fallout shoot in Abu Dhabi, and sources close to the production have suggested it could remain in the UAE for as long as six months, and require a “huge” crew as it will be here for “a long time”.

Reynolds is best known to audiences for his role as Deadpool, the wisecracking superhero that set new records for R-rated movies at the box office. Bay, meanwhile, is best known for directing FX-tastic movies such as the Transformers franchise and Pearl Harbour, which itself had a song dedicated to it in Trey Parker's 2004 gem Team America: World Police.

Director Michael Bay. Reuters

Lior Raz, best known as the co-creator and star of Netflix's political thriller Fauda, has recently been cast in Six Underground.

Itis scheduled for a 2019 release on Netflix and is currently shooting in Italy. Michael Bay and Ryan Reynolds will no doubt tell us more shortly.

The National understands that location scouts for the movie are currently in Abu Dhabi, finalising where Bay can best shoot a robot exploding over a sand dune.